


Glitch in the System

by killerweasel



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 15:26:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1715498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity. Fortune favors the brave, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glitch in the System

Title: Glitch in the System  
Fandom: _Pacific Rim_  
Characters: Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, Tendo Choi  
Word Count: 2,710  
Rating: R  
A/N: AU during the events of _Pacific Rim_  
Warnings: n/a  
Summary: There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity. Fortune favors the brave, right?

 

"Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Hermann paced back and forth in Loccent, his cane slamming into the floor with more force than necessary. "We had the double event I predicted only instead of attacking, one Kaiju defended the Breach while the other went into Hong Kong, dug its way into a public shelter and then _ate_ Newton before they both went back into the Breach!" He let out an impressive stream of curses. "Why, after all these years of fighting, would they suddenly stop? Why Newton? I don't understand!"

"Hermann, I think you should sit down." Tendo rewound the footage taken by the PPDC helicopter. He zoomed in as far as he could. "Come over here and watch this with me."

Hermann took a deep breath before sitting in the chair next to Tendo. "What am I supposed to see?"

"Look at Newt's face." He tapped on the screen. "He's talking to Otachi. I have no idea what he's saying, but he's definitely having some sort of conversation."

"I never should have left him alone. I think his Drift with the Kaiju brain altered his mind." Hermann ran a shaky hand over his face. "Wait. Rewind that again." Leaning forward, he focused on someone to Newt's left. "That elderly woman gave him a notebook. Maybe he wrote us a message. Has anyone looked for her?"

"We have people on the ground near the shelter right now. I'll keep you posted." Tendo gave Hermann's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure Newt's fine, Hermann. He went into that Kaiju's mouth voluntarily. Maybe he has a plan."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

\---

When Newt's eyes fluttered open, found himself face to face with one of the Precursors. He sat up with a gasp. The alien jerked back in surprise. Newt was rather proud of himself for not screaming in terror. He wasn't actually sure he was capable of doing so at the moment anyway. It was hard for him to breathe, which he determined was due to a lower level of oxygen in the atmosphere. Newt wasn't tied up or restrained. That either meant they weren't afraid of what he was capable of or they didn't think he'd be stupid enough to try and make a run for it.

The alien in front of him was holding a small flat circle in its hand. It pointed to the patch, then its throat, and then at Newt. Newt's hands were shaking as he reached out and picked the patch up. It seemed to hum against his skin. He was starting to feel light-headed now and breathing deeply hurt. The alien repeated the gestures.

"Give me a second." The moment Newt pressed the patch against his neck he was able to breathe easier. He closed his eyes, taking steady breaths until his head stopped pounding. When he opened them again, he saw the alien studying him. "Thank you."

The alien carefully lowered its body onto the floor. It motioned for Newt to move closer. Newt bit his lip. If the alien had wanted to hurt him, it wouldn't have bothered helping him breathe. He scooted forward until he was within touching distance.

Newt flinched when the alien started to reach toward him. The alien looked offended. "Sorry, dude. I don't know what you're going to do and I'm a bit freaked out right now. I won't move this time."

Reaching out with its smaller set of arms, the alien gently placed one hand on either side of Newt's head. Then it leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. _Can you hear me?_

"Yeah?" Newt closed his eyes, concentrating on the alien's voice. "We're not going to have an entire conversation like this, are we? Not that I'm complaining because this is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me other than working with Hermann and being sortof eaten by a Kaiju, but I think you're going to get a cramp in your neck."

_I need you to clear your mind and relax. I will try not to hurt you._

"Wait, what?" Newt frantically tried to think of nothing as the alien's grip tightened on the sides of his head. He felt a tingling sensation at the back of his mind and then he found himself almost drowning in memories that didn't belong to him. He tried to focus on what he was seeing, but it was like trying to grab grains of sand. There was a flare of pain in his left eye followed by something wet dripping onto his upper lip. "You need to stop. Please."

The grip on Newt's head vanished and Newt slumped back against the wall. Blood was running freely from his nose. "I should have warned you. That's what happened when I Drifted with the brain before." He felt around in the pockets of his jacket until he found the handkerchief he'd borrowed ages ago from Hermann. He held it against his face.

_I should have held back._ The alien touched its own face where Newt's blood had splattered. _Your kind is much more fragile than ours._

"I'll be fine in a couple minutes." He closed his eyes as he sifted through everything he'd just been shown. "There's no way what you gave me all belonged to just you. That was a century worth of information."

_Some of it belonged to the elder I was created from, some from myself, and some from the rest. We are all connected. Or we were until a short time ago._

"You're clones, just like the Kaiju." Newt cautiously opened one eye and then the other before checking to see if the bleeding had finally stopped. "When someone new is created, they are given the memories of those who came before, right?" The alien inclined its head. "And if the same thing applies to the Kaiju, that's why they took down our Jaegers faster. They already knew what the Jaegers were capable of from previous experience. That's horrifying, but brilliant."

_For as long as we have existed, it has been this way._ The alien shifted on the floor, making itself a bit more comfortable. _You are the Corruptor._

"You just said that the way people back home say 'King' or 'President'." A chill went down Newt's spine. "Or maybe the way they talk about serial killers and celebrities. I don't understand."

_You are an individual. Your thoughts are yours and yours alone._ Newt felt the alien smile in his head. _Before you, there was never 'I' and 'me'. It was always 'we’ and 'us'._

Newt blinked. "Are you telling me that I caused your entire Hivemind to start thinking differently? I caused a glitch in your system? I was only plugged in for a few minutes."

_It was long enough. The elders rebelled against the idea. The younger ones, like myself, we fully embraced it._ The alien held out a hand. _This is how your kind does it, correct? Pleasure to meet you, Corruptor._

"Um... Call me Newt. Corruptor makes me feel like a super villain or something." Newt reached out and carefully shook the alien's hand. "Do you have a name?"

_Not before the corruption, but I do now. I think you'd have to remove your tongue and lower jaw to pronounce it properly. Alex was the name of the one who added colors to your flesh last, correct? I wish to be called that._ Alex glanced over at Newt. _I really thought you would be taller._

"So did I, but it wasn’t in the cards." Newt stuck the bloody handkerchief back in his pocket. "Just so you know it was never my intention to create some sort of schism between your people. I just wanted to prove I could do what I'd proposed and to see if I could bring an end to the war before we lost anyone else. You aren't planning on dissecting me or having some sort of public execution for possibly ruining your society are you? That would suck."

Alex looked horrified. _We will be doing neither of those things._

"Good to know." Newt ran his fingers through his hair. "Tell me if I'm getting any of this wrong. Your kind, you inhabit countless other worlds. You guys have been around for a very, very long time. You tend to wipe out the planets original residents with the Kaiju so you are then free to do whatever you want without opposition. A colony of sorts is established. Each colony has its own Hivemind as the entire population is made up of clones of the original Precursor which was left on the planet's surface by something you refer to as Eldest. I'm assuming Eldest is the oldest of your kind, though they're probably also a clone of someone who came before them. Then you use up the planet until it no longer serves your purpose. While the resources are picked up by people higher in the food chain than yourselves, the rest of you are left to wither away and die because another colony can easily be established through cloning."

_That is correct._ Alex patted Newt on the shoulder. _Your world is not the first which fought back, but it did it in a most interesting way. Giant metal beasts to attack our own beasts of flesh and blood was something new._

"Why am I here, Alex?"

_Eldest discovered the corruption. They removed those who were still connected with what you call the Hivemind to prevent further contamination. They have fully abandoned this world and those of us who were corrupted. Eldest has declared your world off limits. The war, as you call it, is over._ Alex stood up. _The others need to see you and confirm with their own eyes that you are something real and not just a glitch in the Hivemind. Please, come with me._

“There won’t be any more attacks? That’s fantastic. Oh my god, I ended the war. I’m a rock star!” He pumped the air with his fist. "Meeting everyone can't be any worse than my first television appearance where Hermann and I got in a shouting match over our Breach theories." Newt smiled as he got to his feet. "Lead the way, Alex." 

__\---_ _

Hermann read the note over for the third time before Tendo plucked it from his fingertips. "Newton's handwriting is still horrible." 

Tendo cleared his throat. "'Hermann, by now you know I’m gone. I would have called you, but I left my cell on the desk. Sorry. The Kaiju think in pictures and from what I can make out, something big happened on the Precursor’s world. I’m going to go check it out. This is either the bravest or stupidest thing I’ve ever done. Maybe I can put a stop the war before we all die. If, for some reason, I don't come back, I leave all of my possessions to you, including the piano. You play it better than I do. I love everyone in this Shatterdome. Newt.'" He raised an eyebrow. "You two have a piano?" 

“Yes.” Hermann pointed to the back of the lab. “We’ve had it for years.”

“You know he’s going to do everything he can to come home again, right?” Tendo chuckled softly. “I can’t believe he made a Pons out of crap from around the Shatterdome and Drifted with a Kaiju brain.” 

“The Marshall said he would give Newton forty-eight hours to return and then they would initiate Operation Pitfall to close the Breach.” Hermann swallowed a few times. “What if it isn’t enough time? He could end up trapped there, Tendo. Not to mention we don’t know for sure if my calculations are correct.”

“We’ll worry about that when it happens. Come with me to grab some lunch. You need to eat something or you’re going to keel over." 

“Fine, but I won’t enjoy it.” 

__\---_ _

“All I have to do is put these containers in the ocean and it will release the...” Newt tried three times to pronounce the name of the microscopic creatures before giving up. “The creatures will be released. You’re sure they’ll deal with the Kaiju Blue and maybe even the radioactive materials from our bombs without going crazy and killing us off?”

_They have a lifespan of two of your weeks. They will die off on their own after cleansing your water._ Alex packed three containers into the pod Newt would be traveling in. _I would offer to send some of my people to help with your rebuilding efforts, but I don’t think that would end well._

“You’re probably right.” He hopped down off of the counter he’d been sitting on. “My people might not believe me about the war being over. I’m not sure they’ll just take my word for it.” 

_Once you return, I will make sure the device keeping the portal is destroyed. Your equipment, as primitive as it is, should pick up something._ Alex straightened up. _Thank you, Newt, for giving us our individuality._

“Like I said, it wasn’t what I set out to do, but I’m glad it worked out for both sides.” He started to get into the pod and paused. “I probably shouldn’t be asking this, what with you guys trying to wipe us out for over a decade, but now that you’ve been cut off from everyone else, are you going to be able to survive?”

_We have enough resources to last for three of your years. In that time, we should be able to either find a way off of the planet or create new resources to use. I think we be fine._ Alex stepped back from the pod. _I don’t know if our connection will continue once the Breach is closed or if there will be side effects._

Newt shrugged. “Whatever happens happens. It was worth the risk.” He climbed inside. “Do I have to destroy this pod?” 

_It will destroy itself, much like our beasts._

The lid to the pod closed and Newt was very glad he didn’t suffer from claustrophobia. There was an odd motion, as if he was being turned inside out and then everything faded to darkness.

\---

“Newton? You need to wake up because I reached my stress threshold eight hours ago and I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

Newt’s eyes fluttered open when he felt a hand on top of his own. “Hermann? Ugh. It tastes like something died in my mouth, came back to life, threw up, and then died again.” He made a face. “I’m thirsty.”

“Here.” Hermann pressed Newt’s glasses into his hand before grabbing the pitcher of water next to the hospital bed and pouring a glass. He stuck a straw in it and held the cup out. Newt wrapped his lips around the straw and drank slowly. “I forbid you from gallivanting off to alien worlds by yourself again. I thought I had lost you, you foolish man.”

“I love you too, Hermann.” Newt smiled as Hermann leaned in to kiss his temple. “What happened? How did I get here?”

“The pod you were began to dissolve as soon as you came through the Breach. You barely made it up to the surface before it vanished completely. Tendo registered three items fall away, but those dissolved before we could get a look at them.” Hermann picked up Newt’s hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb. “The Breach is gone. There was an energy surge and then it collapsed in on itself. As soon as medical believes you are safe to discharge, the Marshall wants to hold a debriefing.”

“I wish you could have come with me. I think you would have gotten along with Alex. He’s sortof the leader of the Precursors I met.” Newt yawned. “I think I’m going to sleep some more.”

“Newton, are you responsible for saving the world?”

“Does it still count if I did it by accident?”

Hermann rolled his eyes. “Of course it does.”

“Then yes, I single-handedly saved the world by infecting an alien civilization with my brain. I need to add that to my resume.” He chuckled softly as his eyes closed. “By the way, Hermann, the piano is still mine.”


End file.
